Immigration and housing: rethinking the role of fiscal policies to manage diversity

We study the two key social issues of immigration and housing in lightof each other and analyse which housing policies work best to distributediversity (racial, economic, cultural) equally across our cities and towns. Inparticular, we compare the impact of direct government expenditure andtax incentives on the housing conditions of immigrants in four Europeancountries: France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. The analysisshows that the different policies which have been adopted in these countrieshave not succeeded in preventing immigrants from being concentratedin certain neighbourhoods. The reason is that housing benefits andtax incentives are normally “spatially blind”. In our opinion, governmentsshould consider immigration indirectly in their housing policies and, forinstance, distribute social housing more evenly across different areas topromote sustainable levels of diversity.

Issue review : streamlined sales and use tax agreement.

During the 2010 legislative session, Senate File 2375, or Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Administration Act, was approved by the general assembly. The act modified the Iowa sales use tax law to keep the state in compliance with the National Streamlines Sales and Use Tax Agreement. This issue review provides a brief update on the status of the agreement and its impact on Iowa.

Issue review : state of Iowa full-time-equivalent positions and personnel costs.

This issue review provides background on the establishment of full-time-equivalent, or FTE, positions and examines how FTE positions are used in the state's budgeting process. This issue review also provides historical information regarding FTE positions and personnel costs and the current status and outlook of FTE positions and salary expenditures for fiscal year 2011. In addition, this issue review outlines the new requirements included in Senate File 2088, Government Reorganization Efficiency Act, that will impact FTE levels and expenditure of salary dollars for fiscal 2011.

Emergence of Swiss metropole and scaling properties of urban clusters

Defining the limits of an urban agglomeration is essential both for fundamental and applied studies in quantitative and theoretical geography. A simple and consistent way for defining such urban clusters is important for performing different statistical analysis and comparisons. Traditionally, agglomerations are defined using a rather qualitative approach based on various statistical measures. This definition varies generally from one country to another, and the data taken into account are different. In this paper, we explore the use of the City Clustering Algorithm (CCA) for the agglomeration definition in Switzerland. This algorithm provides a systemic and easy way to define an urban area based only on population data. The CCA allows the specification of the spatial resolution for defining the urban clusters. The results from different resolutions are compared and analysed, and the effect of filtering the data investigated. Different scales and parameters allow highlighting different phenomena. The study of Zipf's law using the visual rank-size rule shows that it is valid only for some specific urban clusters, inside a narrow range of the spatial resolution of the CCA. The scale where emergence of one main cluster occurs can also be found in the analysis using Zipf's law. The study of the urban clusters at different scales using the lacunarity measure - a complementary measure to the fractal dimension - allows to highlight the change of scale at a given range.

Issue review : Secure an Advanced Vision for Education, or (SAVE) funding, fiscal year 2011 report and analysis.

During the 2010 legislative session, House File 2531, Fiscal Year 2011 Standing Appropriations Act, was enacted and required school districts to report the specific use of sales tax dollars for school infrastructure purposes to the Department of Education. The Department published SAVE SILO annual report reflecting data for fiscal year 2011. This issue review provides a summary and additional analysis of that information.

A general theory of rank testing

This paper develops an approach to rank testing that nests all existing rank tests andsimplifies their asymptotics. The approach is based on the fact that implicit in every ranktest there are estimators of the null spaces of the matrix in question. The approach yieldsmany new insights about the behavior of rank testing statistics under the null as well as localand global alternatives in both the standard and the cointegration setting. The approach alsosuggests many new rank tests based on alternative estimates of the null spaces as well as thenew fixed-b theory. A brief Monte Carlo study illustrates the results.

Troponin-based risk stratification of patients with acute nonmassive pulmonary embolism: systematic review and metaanalysis.

BACKGROUND: Controversy exists regarding the usefulness of troponin testing for the risk stratification of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). We conducted an updated systematic review and a metaanalysis of troponin-based risk stratification of normotensive patients with acute symptomatic PE. The sources of our data were publications listed in Medline and Embase from 1980 through April 2008 and a review of cited references in those publications. METHODS: We included all studies that estimated the relation between troponin levels and the incidence of all-cause mortality in normotensive patients with acute symptomatic PE. Two reviewers independently abstracted data and assessed study quality. From the literature search, 596 publications were screened. Nine studies that consisted of 1,366 normotensive patients with acute symptomatic PE were deemed eligible. Pooled results showed that elevated troponin levels were associated with a 4.26-fold increased odds of overall mortality (95% CI, 2.13 to 8.50; heterogeneity chi(2) = 12.64; degrees of freedom = 8; p = 0.125). Summary receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed a relationship between the sensitivity and specificity of troponin levels to predict overall mortality (Spearman rank correlation coefficient = 0.68; p = 0.046). Pooled likelihood ratios (LRs) were not extreme (negative LR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.39 to 0.88]; positive LR, 2.26 [95% CI, 1.66 to 3.07]). The Begg rank correlation method did not detect evidence of publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this metaanalysis indicate that elevated troponin levels do not adequately discern normotensive patients with acute symptomatic PE who are at high risk for death from those who are at low risk for death.

Fecal calprotectin more accurately reflects endoscopic activity of ulcerative colitis than the Lichtiger Index, CRP, and blood leukocytes

Background: Thus far, the correlation of noninvasive markers with endoscopic activity in ulcerative colitis (UC) according to the modified Baron Index is unknown. We aimed to evaluate the correlation between endoscopic activity and fecal calprotectin (FC), C-reactive protein (CRP), blood leukocytes, and the Lichtiger Index (clinical score). Methods: UC patients undergoing complete colonoscopy were prospectively enrolled and scored clinically and endoscopically in an independent fashion. Fecal and blood samples were analyzed in UC patients and controls. Results: We enrolled 228 UC patients and 52 controls. Endoscopic disease activity correlated best with FC (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient r = 0.821), followed by the Lichtiger Index (r = 0.682), CRP (r = 0.556), and leukocytes (r = 0.401). FC was the only marker discriminating between different grades of endoscopic activity (grade 0, 20}11 mg/g; grade 1, 44}34 mg/g; grade 2, 111}74 mg/g; grade 3, 330}332 mg/g; grade 4, 659}319 mg/g; P = 0.0018 for discriminating grade 0 vs. 1 and P < 0.001 for discriminating all other grades). FC had the highest overall accuracy (91%) to detect endoscopically active disease (modified Baron Index _2), followed by the Lichtiger Index of _4 (77%), CRP larger than 5 mg/L (69%) and blood leukocytosis (58%). Conclusions: FC better correlated with the endoscopic disease activity than clinical activity, CRP, and blood leukocytes. The strong correlation with endoscopic disease activity suggests that FC represents a useful biomarker for noninvasive monitoring of disease activity in UC patients.

Barriers, benefits and preferences for exercise in RA patients: A cross sectional study.

Background/Purpose: Physical exercise is safe and effective as an adjunctive nonpharmacological treatment modality in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is well established that patients with RA are less active compared to healthy controls. The transtheoretical model of health promotion, based on five stages of change, provides a useful framework to better understand patients' motivation towards regular exercise. The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of exercise stages of change in a RA cohort, and to examine barriers, benefits and preferences for exercise. Methods: One hundred and twenty consecutive patients with RA followed at a hospital-based rheumatology practice were invited to participate in the study. Those who accepted to participate filled in a questionnaire to determine their exercise stage of change, their perceived benefits and barriers to exercise, and their preferences for various features of exercise. Disease activity was measured using the disease activity score (DAS28). Other variables included the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), the short version of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (AIMS2-SF), pain and fatigue visual analogue scales (VAS), the number of comorbidities and demographic characteristics. Characteristics of patients in the maintenance and precontemplation stages of change were compared using two-sample t tests, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and Chi-square tests. Results: Eighty nine (74%) patients were finally included in the analyses. Mean age was 58.4 (SD 11.7) years, mean RA duration was 10.1 (9.8) years and mean DAS28 was 2.8 (1.2). The distribution of exercise stages of change was as follows: precontemplation (n_30, 34%), contemplation (n_11, 13%), preparation (n_5, 6%), action (n_2, 2%), and maintenance (n_39, 45%). Compared to patients in the maintenance stage of change, precontemplators were less often at work (P_0.05), exhibited a higher body mass index (P_0.01), poorer HAQ (P_0.01), higher pain VAS (P_0.05), poorer scores of physical (P_0.001), symptom (P_0.01), affect (P_0.01) and role (P_0.01) dimensions of the AIMS2-SF, and reported less exercise benefits (P_0.05) and more barriers to exercise (p_0.01). Most participants preferred exercising alone (40%), at home (29%), at a moderate intensity (64%), with advice provided by a rheumatologist (34%) or a specialist in exercise and RA (34%). Walking was by far the preferred type of exercise, in both the summer (86%) and the winter (51%). Conclusion: This study provides new insight into how RA interferes with exercise participation. Our cohort of patients with RA was essentially distributed across the precontemplation and maintenance exercise stages of change. These subgroups of patients exhibit psychological and functional differences that make their needs in terms of exercise counseling different. Walking appears to be a simple but promising way of promoting physical activity among RA patients.

MHC Class II Transactivator Is an In Vivo Regulator of Osteoclast Differentiation and Bone Homeostasis Co-opted From Adaptive Immunity.

The molecular networks controlling bone homeostasis are not fully understood. The common evolution of bone and adaptive immunity encourages the investigation of shared regulatory circuits. MHC Class II Transactivator (CIITA) is a master transcriptional co-activator believed to be exclusively dedicated for antigen presentation. CIITA is expressed in osteoclast precursors, and its expression is accentuated in osteoporotic mice. We thus asked whether CIITA plays a role in bone biology. To this aim, we fully characterized the bone phenotype of two mouse models of CIITA overexpression, respectively systemic and restricted to the monocyte-osteoclast lineage. Both CIITA-overexpressing mouse models revealed severe spontaneous osteoporosis, as assessed by micro-computed tomography and histomorphometry, associated with increased osteoclast numbers and enhanced in vivo bone resorption, whereas osteoblast numbers and in vivo bone-forming activity were unaffected. To understand the underlying cellular and molecular bases, we investigated ex vivo the differentiation of mutant bone marrow monocytes into osteoclasts and immune effectors, as well as osteoclastogenic signaling pathways. CIITA-overexpressing monocytes differentiated normally into effector macrophages or dendritic cells but showed enhanced osteoclastogenesis, whereas CIITA ablation suppressed osteoclast differentiation. Increased c-fms and receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) signaling underlay enhanced osteoclast differentiation from CIITA-overexpressing precursors. Moreover, by extending selected phenotypic and cellular analyses to additional genetic mouse models, namely MHC Class II deficient mice and a transgenic mouse line lacking a specific CIITA promoter and re-expressing CIITA in the thymus, we excluded MHC Class II expression and T cells from contributing to the observed skeletal phenotype. Altogether, our study provides compelling genetic evidence that CIITA, the molecular switch of antigen presentation, plays a novel, unexpected function in skeletal homeostasis, independent of MHC Class II expression and T cells, by exerting a selective and intrinsic control of osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption in vivo. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Iowa Roads and Streets Functional Classification Manual, 1970

This manual provides a set of procedural rules and regulations for use in functionally classifying all roads and streets in Iowa according to the character of service they are intended to provide. Functional classification is a requirement of House File 394 (Functional Highway Classification Bill) enacted by the 63rd General Assembly of the Iowa Legislature. Functional classification is defined in this Bill as: "The grouping of roads and streets into systems according to the character of service they will be expected to provide, and the assignment of jurisdiction over each class to the governmental unit having primary interest in each type of service."

Iowa Roads and Streets Functional Classification Manual, 1975

This manual provides a set of procedural rules and regulations for use in functionally classifying all roads and streets in Iowa according to the character of service they are intended to provide. Functional classification is a requirement of the 1973 Code of Iowa (Chapter 306) as amended by Senate File 1062 enacted by the 2nd session of the 65th General Assembly of Iowa. Functional classification is defined as the grouping of roads and streets into systems according to the character of service they will be expected to provide, and the assignment of jurisdiction over each class to the governmental unit having primary interest in each type of service. Stated objectives of the legislation are: "Functional classification will serve the legislator by providing an equitable basis for determination of proper source of tax support and providing for the assignment of financial resources to the governmental unit having responsibility for each class of service. Functional classification promotes the ability of the administrator to effectively prepare and carry out long range programs which reflect the transportation needs of the public." All roads and streets in legal existence will be classified. Instructions are also included in this manual for a continuous reporting to the Highway Commission of changes in classification and/or jurisdiction resulting from new construction, corporation line changes, relocations, and deletions. This continuous updating of records is absolutely essential for modern day transportation planning as it is the only possible way to monitor the status of existing road systems, and consequently determine adequacy and needs with accuracy.

GIS-Based Accident Location and Analysis System (GIS-ALAS) Project Report: Phase 1, 1998

This report summarizes progress made in Phase 1 of the GIS-based Accident Location and Analysis System (GIS-ALAS) project. The GIS-ALAS project builds on several longstanding efforts by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), law enforcement agencies, Iowa State University, and several other entities to create a locationally-referenced highway accident database for Iowa. Most notable of these efforts is the Iowa DOT’s development of a PC-based accident location and analysis system (PC-ALAS), a system that has been well received by users since it was introduced in 1989. With its pull-down menu structure, PC-ALAS is more portable and user-friendly than its mainframe predecessor. Users can obtain accident statistics for locations during specified time periods. Searches may be refined to identify accidents of specific types or involving drivers with certain characteristics. Output can be viewed on a computer screen, sent to a file, or printed using pre-defined formats.

Final Report: Senate File 505 Health Consumer Ombudsman Alliance December 2015

This report was prepared pursuant to Senate File 505, which tasks the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman with convening a multiagency workgroup to gather information and provide recommendations for the establishment of a Health Consumer Ombudsman Alliance.

Differences between first episode schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

BACKGROUND: The diagnostic and clinical overlap between schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder is an important nosological issue in psychiatry that is yet to be resolved. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and functional characteristics of an epidemiological treated cohort of first episode patients with an 18-month discharge diagnosis of schizophrenia (FES) or schizoaffective disorder (FESA). METHODS: This study was part of the larger First Episode Psychosis Outcome Study (FEPOS) which involved a medical file audit study of all 786 patients treated at the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre between 1998 and 2000. Of this cohort, 283 patients had an 18-month discharge diagnosis of FES and 64 had a diagnosis of FESA. DSM-IV diagnoses and clinical and functional ratings were derived and validated by two consultant psychiatrists. RESULTS: Compared to FES patients, those with FESA were significantly more likely to have a later age of onset (p=.004), longer prodrome (p=.020), and a longer duration of untreated psychosis (p<.001). At service entry, FESA patients presented with a higher illness severity (p=.020), largely due to the presence of more severe manic symptoms (p<.001). FESA patients also had a greater number of subsequent inpatient admissions (p=.017), had more severe depressive symptoms (p=.011), and higher levels of functioning at discharge. DISCUSSION: The findings support the notion that these might be considered two discernable disorders; however, further research is required to ascertain the ways and extent to which these disorders are discriminable at presentation and over time.